Dewhurst talks funding Texas' water projects

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is interested in water-related projects that already have money invested, are farther down the line in permitting and can be started sooner and at a very attractive price per acre foot.

Lawmakers are already filing bills calling for billions of dollars from the Rainy Day Fund to facilitate solutions. Dewhurst cited $53 billion as an estimate of the 503 water projects being proposed in the long run. For now, he doesn’t know whether it will take $500 million, $1 billion or $2 billion from the fund to launch the state’s water plan.

“We’re going to provide the funds necessary. There’s no other option,” he said. “The state of Texas will stop its growth unless we provide viable water resources.”

Providing potable water to urban areas over the next four to five decades will prove a major challenge, Dewhurst said, as the Texas Water Development Board reports 75 percent of Texas’ growth in population will occur in six cities: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston and El Paso.

Dewhurst knows that water isn't the only problem that may arise when the population jumps.

Solutions are needed for Texas' highways, otherwise they'll become parking lots, he said.